# Pipe review- Old Mokum



## Jeff10236

I have a ceramic pipe I picked up at a local tobacco store (probably Faders given when I bought it) sometime in the past 10 years or so (plus or minus a couple) that is an interesting pipe, definitely a bit different.

It is an "Old Mokum" which was apparently made by a company called Zenith in Amsterdam.

It is ceramic. Basically, it was a clay pipe which was then glazed. When new it was a very bright, glossy porcelain-like white. It was pretty. It was also fairly inexpensive (I don't remember what I paid for it anymore though). So I bought it just to have something different.

Well, it was even more different than it first appeared. The draw hole in the bowl appears to be far off center and in an odd place. When you stick a pipe cleaner through the shank it completely misses the hole (in fact, sometimes you can see it pass beneath it). Turns out it is designed to have a large hollow chamber underneath the bowl (or between the inner tobacco bowl and the outer bowl) to help cool the tobacco and tame the juices. Kind of like a variation on the Peterson and Savinelli "System" pipes.

The ceramic started bright and glossy white as mentioned before. Like a regular clay pipe or a Meerschaum it darkens as you smoke it. Mine is a very nice creamy beige/light brown now.

Its smoking characteristics are very much like a clay pipe. The smoke itself is much cooler than out of a briar, it smokes dry, and it is good for those who smoke different kinds of tobaccos because it doesn't ghost. Unfortunately, it also has the negatives of a clay pipe- the walls of the pipe get too hot to hold after a while and you have to hold it by the stem or the shank, and I would guess that they would be pretty fragile (though they aren't supposed to be as bad as a regular clay pipe).

All in all, it is a neat little pipe, a bit of a conversation piece, but not my favorite pipe to smoke. If you would want one, estate Old Mokums seem to come up on Ebay once in a while and they usually seem to run under $20.

Mine is in a volcano shape. Here is a website with some info, history, and photos of these type of pipes (the volcano shape isn't there):

www.pipeshop.nl - ceramic pipes by Zenith, P.J. van der Want Azn.


----------



## owaindav

Very cool review of a very unusual pipe. I'd love to see pics of yours!


----------



## Jeff10236

owaindav said:


> Very cool review of a very unusual pipe. I'd love to see pics of yours!


OK, you asked for it...I'm not the best photographer by a long-shot, but here it is:

In this picture you have the pipe along with my Savinelli pipe tool (wood scales) and Puma "Earl" knife with stag scales (it will be my JNP and Peterson 3P knife when I get some 3P and JNP):










The next is just a close up:









In this last one you get my ugly mug as well:









Now, like I said, I'm not great with taking pictures. The pipe appears a lot whiter and less brown than it really is in these pictures.

One thing I forgot to mention in my write-up, it is a military mount. It uses a rubber plug to give it the friction it needs to keep the mouthpiece in the ceramic pipe.


----------



## owaindav

Great pics! I like the pipe. I love those stem mounts like that.


----------



## Natedogg

Nice review and those are some beautiful pipes. That might go on my bucket list.


----------



## Jeff10236

Natedogg said:


> Nice review and those are some beautiful pipes. That might go on my bucket list.


Well, here is a Zenith (not the Old Mokum line though) on Ebay. I'm not crazy about how that one has browned, but smoke it enough to heat the rest of the pipe and it might catch up:

ZENITH HOLLAND PIPE CERAMIC HAND HOLDING BOWL - COOL! - eBay (item 200572662176 end time Mar-05-11 13:38:43 PST)

$32.45 "buy it now" price. I have seen them go for less if you want one but are willing to wait for another to show up. If it was me, I'd wait for another one (I don't like the particular way that one browned from the heat, and it is a little more than others have gone for). I saw a really interesting one in a black glaze the other day, but that auction must have ended.


----------



## Jeff10236

Thanks for the compliments guys. I'll be reviewing a more mainstream pipe soon, my Savinelli Saturnia.


----------



## Natedogg

Interesting, thanks for the link!


----------

